Afrikaner leaders in Washington: Slam US ties, warn of economic collapse, and urge trade over aid

Key topics:ANC policies under fire: Afrikaner leaders criticised South Africa’s racialised economic policies, including BEE and land expropriation, as drivers of economic decline.Urgent call for reform: The delegation urged a shift toward free markets, private property rights, and trade-led growth to reverse the country’s downward trajectory.Proposed US partnership: They called on the US to support South Africa through trade and infrastructure investment, not aid - highlighting energy, agriculture, and security as priority areas..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.The auditorium doors will open for BNIC#2 on 10 September 2025 in Hermanus. For more information and tickets, click here..Watch the full panel discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute below.By Patrick KiddIn a candid and sobering panel discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute, three influential South African leaders, Dr Corné Mulder, Dr Theo de Jager, and Mr. Gerhard Papenfus, shared frank perspectives on the troubled relationship between the United States and South Africa. The panel, moderated by Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Joshua Meservey, addressed political tension, economic policy failures, the land question, farm violence, and opportunities for renewed cooperation between the two nations.A diplomatic catastrophe in the Oval OfficeDr Corné Mulder, leader of the Freedom Front Plus and a veteran MP, opened with a sharp assessment of recent diplomatic missteps: "I think the meeting in the Oval Office was a diplomatic catastrophe, with all due respect." Mulder criticised the ANC's decades-long alignment with regimes like the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and Iran, which he said has "brought South Africa to a certain position where... the country is in serious trouble."He lamented the absence of concrete proposals during President Cyril Ramaphosa's US visit and pointed to a "leadership vacuum" and "policy vacuum" in South Africa's current government. Yet he remained cautiously optimistic: "I believe it can be turned around. We are committed. We are motivated."Farming under siegeDr Theo de Jager, CEO of the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI), gave a harrowing account of South Africa's agricultural challenges, highlighting policy missteps and the harsh reality of rural crime.Speaking on land reform, he noted that beneficiaries "are delivered to the state. They are tenants... They cannot give their land as collateral to access financing." He decried the Expropriation Without Compensation (EWC) legislation, explaining that it "will walk [farmers] out naked" if land is seized below market value.On farm violence, de Jager offered a personal and graphic testimony: "When I was president of our provincial farmers' organisation, I attended each one of these farm attack scenes. It's not something you can unsee... the kind of violence and brutality... and then afterwards, these hundreds, sometimes thousands of people applauding it."He also warned of the chilling effect of the chant "Kill the Boer, kill the farmer," widely defended by ANC leaders as a "struggle song." He observed, "Nowhere else in South Africa are stadiums filled where people chant... It does have an effect."Economic policy and economic declineGerhard Papenfus, CEO of the National Employers Association of South Africa (NEASA), framed South Africa's economic woes as a product of destructive state intervention. "South Africa is an economy in decline," he said, blaming "a system of systematic persecution of a particular type of person."He argued that Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Employment Equity policies "are the reason for the economic decline of South Africa... a cancer in the soul of your economy." He explained the state-enforced racial quotas: "The designated group covers... Africans, Coloured, Indian people, white women, and people with disabilities. The non-designated group? White men." Under this system, he said, "they have no employment rights."Papenfus warned of a patronage economy where "you don't have to establish your own business. You simply align with somebody else and get a 51% share." He stressed that prosperity cannot be achieved through entitlement: "There is no way to wealth other than hard work."A way forward: Trade, not aidThe panellists offered a constructive path, centred on economic partnerships, infrastructure development, and mutual benefit.Dr Mulder proposed that South Africa should "come to the United States and propose a deal... constructive and positive." He cited power generation, infrastructure, and trade as priority areas, saying, "US companies could come and assist... in terms of roads, the ports, huge infrastructure."He pointed to South Africa's strategic geography at the tip of Africa as key: "There could be an agreement... between the United States, Argentina, and South Africa, in terms of the entrance points into the South Atlantic."Preserving agricultural potentialDr de Jager echoed the call for partnership and praised US agricultural technology and markets: "We are holding our hearts as farmers that we will be kicked out of AGOA... There will be a lot of farmers who are in an existential crisis." He emphasised that agriculture is central to solving rural poverty: "The war of our generation is a war on poverty... There's no sector of the economy that can create more wealth... than agriculture."He advocated for partnerships between established and emerging farmers, and access to capital through secure property rights: "If you do not own the land... You cannot give it up as collateral." He warned that denying land title traps beneficiaries in dependence and poverty.Beyond BEE: Entrepreneurship over entitlementIn response to a question about alternatives to BEE, Papenfus was unequivocal: "Government need to stop their interference... leave the private sector alone." He emphasised that entrepreneurs must be free to grow businesses and create jobs without racial quotas or bureaucratic obstacles: "You cannot tell a business who to employ and how many."He added, "When the state interferes, the state inhibits. If you start and grow something, you will always be... more successful than a guy who gets something for free."Foreign policy misalignmentMulder closed with a stark critique of South Africa's foreign policy: "We want to be friends with all the rogue states in the world... There's a deep underlying commitment [to Iran, Hamas, etc.] which I don't think is to the benefit of South Africa."He noted that South Africa's ICJ case against Israel has already cost taxpayers 137 million Rand and questioned the prioritisation of that effort while domestic issues remain unaddressed.Conclusion: A new vision is neededIn response to criticism from the audience that the panel was backwards-looking, Mulder responded passionately: "Apartheid ended more than 30 years ago... We want to create a South Africa that is a winning nation... for all South Africans." He underscored that the primary victims of current policy failures are ordinary black citizens left unemployed and under-resourced.This panel did not shy away from hard truths. It offered a deeply felt Afrikaner perspective on South Africa's crossroads, highlighting ideological rigidity, failed policy, and missed diplomatic opportunities. But it also envisioned a better path: one of partnership, investment, and mutual respect rooted not in race or ideology, but in shared prosperity.

Afrikaner leaders in Washington: Slam US ties, warn of economic collapse, and urge trade over aid

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